A Good Memory For These Things
by HecateA
Summary: In which Remus has a favourite customer, and Tonks has a neverending list of favourite drinks. Oneshot. Coffee Shop AU.


**Author's Note: **Do you write a coffee shop AU by writing banter? Hopefully. Never done it before, but it was a prompt, and I've always kind of thought that Remus must have found some solace in the Muggle world where werewolves weren't considered real, and so here I go. I spared you all the coffee puns though; we've all bean there, ground that already, after all.

**Disclaimer: **The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

**Warnings: **NA

* * *

**Stacked with: **MC4A; Terms of Services; Shipping War

**Individual Challenge(s): **Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Short Jog

**Representation(s): **Auror Tonks; Barrista Remus

**Bonus challenge(s): **Middle Name; Second Verse (Teat Juice; White Dress; Persistence Still); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Pocky Pockets)

**Word Count: **1409

* * *

**_Shipping Wars_**

**Ship (Team): **Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin (Technicolour Moon)

**List (Prompt): **Medium 2 (Coffee Shop AU)

* * *

**A Good Memory For These Things **

He wiped down the countertop for what must have been the fifth time, but there was nothing else in the shop to do to pretend that he wasn't… well, that he wasn't just _waiting_.

Still, he nearly jumped when the little bell by the door rung and she came in—at her usual time, too. She was alone today, without her usual partner, Shacklebolt. Yet she was wearing her badge and her gun hung at her waist—so she was clearly on duty...

"Fuck," she said when she tripped in the doorframe.

"Watch the step," he called out.

"Always so helpful," she chirped back.

"Service with a smile," he said.

Remus tucked the rag into the pocket of his apron and crossed the space behind the counter to grab a paper cup. He poured in a shot of espresso, layering steamed milk over it, and then the extra shot of espresso she always asked for. He threw in two pumps of the vanilla syrup she liked too. With an extra pump; just because she striked him as a sweet tooth. Then came the whipped cream and the chocolate shavings. That was why.

She was leaning against the counter when he turned back to the cash register, facing the back wall so he could count the number of piercings lining her cartilage and studding her rook and conch. Today there were freckles on her cheeks; sometimes they weren't there, sometimes they were. There was no way of knowing until she came in, though she'd been favouring the pink hair for quite some time now.

He put the cup on the counter, and she pulled it towards her, giving it a look before cracking a smile.

"Perfect, of course," she smiled. She reached for her wallet, but he shook his head.

"No, this is your bad day drink," he said. "Let's just say it's on the house."

That seemed to tease a smile out.

"I can't believe you know that," she said, shaking her head. The tips of her pink hair danced around her face when she did.

"It's not a big deal," he promised.

"No, it is, it's a talent. You're good at your job. You've got a good memory for these things," she said.

Remus shrugged. He'd been working in this shop a long, long time. Practice made perfect, and it also made cappuccinos. He also wasn't used to being told he was _good _at his job, since this was… well, a coffee shop job but forever. It wasn't what he'd dreamed of, though he was thankful for the work. And for the slippery management that failed to notice patterns in the days he booked off or failed to care on the days when he was stiff and sore and sleep-deprived and, well, bad. And the tips went a long, long way. Not to mention that the graveyard shifts he favoured were quiet. The customers were largely Muggle; occasionally someone would come in and sleep at one of the corner tables (Remus always let them), a few nurses came in, taxi drivers, the occasional workers if there was construction nearby… she was the most reliable customer.

"You know, I was here the other night, and you weren't working—not only was it shocking, but whoever they had covering the graveyard shift instead of you totally forgot to give me my extra shot of espresso," she said. "Half of me wants to demand to know where you were."

Remus' heart froze for a second.

"Maybe I was otherwise occupied?" he suggested. "Maybe I was avoiding you."

"Preposterous and, frankly, a little negligent. I was so undercaffeinated, I could have died. I could have fallen asleep during a high-speed chase, or gotten myself killed had my sleepy wits failed me in a duel. The horror knows no bounds!"

"Right, because your life is so exciting," Remus said.

"You bet," she said. "That's why I've got this shiny badge."

"That's why they gave me my nametag too, the never-ending thrill of warming croissants and keeping up with all the kinds of milk being invented. By the way, what does the 'N' there stand for, Auror Tonks?" he asked.

"If I told you I'd have to kill you," Tonks said.

"But you've had your coffee this time," Remus said.

"Yeah, this would be on purpose," Tonks said. "Though I do admit, it feels strange that I'm on a first-name basis with you while you're on a last-name basis with me."

"That's the defect, as ordained by our respective uniforms," Remus grinned. "My name's Lupin."

"Remus Lupin," she mused. "Feels like I should have learned that at least a year ago… That's a good last name, you know. I always wanted a second last name, that way I could completely ditch my first."

"Which is?"

"Let's say you can call me Dora because I like you," she said.

"What in the world starts with an 'N' and has 'Dora' as a nickname?" Remus asked.

"Oh, I've got to go! Duty calls!" Dora said, grabbing her cup, smacking on a disposable lid, and running out the door.

"You're lying," Remus said. "You'll be back tomorrow to face your crimes!"

She laughed on her way out, and that made Remus smile too.

Then he was alone in the coffee shop again, the creaky old espresso machine occasionally creaking and making sounds.

"Dora," he practiced saying out loud to the emptiness. "Dora…"

It was a good name. He'd remember it.

* * *

It was rainy, and so he had a cup of apple cider ready to go around her usual time. Her partner was with her today, and he took his coffee with milk _and _cream which Remus disagreed with profoundly but served anyways.

There was nothing special about today, so all she wanted was a cup of black coffee but she also asked him what book he was reading behind the counter.

Today, she had to wear her official uniform which always made her stuffy and grumpy. Hot chocolate it was. He drizzled chocolate and caramel syrups on top.

Since it was a Friday night and she'd been supposed to have the day off but had been called it to replace someone who was sick, he made her bad day drink. She laughed it off and told him that it wasn't so bad, and gawked that he'd already finished his book.

One day, she came in with a few coworkers and Remus heard them jokingly say that for her birthday, Tonks had finally closed the Thornclaw Case, whatever that might be. Remus snuck her a slice of cake.

For whatever reason, she wanted to know what he liked to drink. He made her a London fog latte, and she took a sip, nodded approvingly, and said she'd see him later.

* * *

"How would you feel about a date?"

"The date squares here are quite good," Remus replied.

"No, that's not what I…" she said, shaking her head. "Not… a date. An actual date."

Remus' eyes widened.

"Come to dinner with me next Tuesday."

"Excuse me?"

"Come to dinner with me," Dora said. "You told me you weren't working. I want to see you in something other than that apron. I want _you _to see me in something other than my work clothes. I want a conversation that won't be interrupted by some drunk girls coming in to eat pastries or Muggle cops dropping by."

Remus blinked at this. "_Why?" _

"Because you're interesting and you're cute and you read a lot of books I want to know more about and you're kind and patient and funny in a really quiet way and you pay lots of attention to the little things and you're thoughtful," Tonks said. "For someone who works in a coffee shop, the concept of a date seems very unfamiliar to you…"

While he _should _have been thinking a hundred miles an hour to find a way out of this on account of Tuesday being a full moon, his brain was mostly consumed by the prospect of… well, dinner.

"How do you know I have Tuesday off?" Remus asked.

"I have a good memory too, you know," Dora said with a grin. It was contagious and he smiled back, bashfully turning back to his counter before looking up to her again.

"Tuesday I'm busy," he said—because that was _one _way of putting it. "But I also have Wednesday off."

She grinned.

"It's a date then," Dora said.


End file.
